BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF THE COMMON MURRE 99 



lighthouse and at other points along the headlands 

 cannot be viewed from the mainland (M. W. Parker, 

 unpublished data). Thousands were noted on the rocks 

 at Point Reyes on 1 1 June 1950 (Scott 1950). H. Cogswell 

 (unpublished field notes) noted hundreds on the rocks 

 on 1 3 November 1 954. Tuck ( 1 96 1 ) reported 3,000 birds 

 at Point Reyes. 



Murres arrived on their breeding rocks at Point 

 Reyes on 3 March 1965 (Chase and Paxton 1965). On 

 27 April 1967, 1,200-1.500 murres were noted breeding 

 at the Point Reyes lighthouse (Chandik and Paxton 

 1967; C. J. Ralph, American Birds Files). Osborne ( 1969) 

 reported 250 breeding pairs at the rocks north of the 

 Point Reyes lighthouse in July-August 1969. On 22 

 August 1 970, Osbome and Reynolds ( 1 97 1 ) and Osborne 

 (1972) noted 250 breeding pairs at the rocks north of 

 the Point Reyes lighthouse. On 3 July 1972, Ainley and 

 Whitt (1974) reported 7,640 breeding birds at Point 

 Reyes (based on a ground count adjusted with a k 

 correction factor) that covered all parts of the Point Reyes 

 headlands. On 27 February 1971, several thousand 

 murres were on the rocks under the lighthouse (Mann 

 1971). Thousands of murres are evident in an aerial 

 photograph (#194) of the Lighthouse Rock area at Point 

 Reyes taken on 15 June 1972 (R. Jurek, unpublished 

 data). On 30 October 1972, murres were noted on the 

 rocks under the lighthouse (Anonymous 1972). H. 

 Cogswell (unpublished field notes) observed 3,000 

 murres on the rocks on the north side of the Point Reyes 

 lighthouse on 22 April and 6 May 1978. 



Points Resistance-Double Complex 



(Point Resistance, Double Point Flocks, 



and Millers Point Rocks) 



Griffies (1894) noted that a "broken reef of sharp, 

 low rocks . . . extends at intervals from the north end of 

 Bolinas Bay clear to Point Reyes . . . The patches of 

 white on the larger of these rocks show them to be 

 inhabited [by murres and other seabirds]." 



Murre breeding was first documented at Point 

 Resistance on 30 May 1926 (Kibbe 1926). Whereas 

 Bolander and Bryant (1935) did not note breeding there 

 in 1929. breeding was again noted at "Bird Rock" by 

 Mrs. Kibbe on 7 June 1931 (Allen 1931). Stephens and 

 Pringle (1933) noted that "about a dozen [were] found 

 on Bird Rock in Drake's Bay, June 2, 1931, by Herman 

 de Fremery." Grinnell and Miller (1944) reported 

 breeding at a sea-cliff and islet near the mouth of Bear 

 Valley (i.e., Point Resistance) in 1935-36. One of two 

 eggs found among Brandt's cormorants (Plwlacrocorox 

 penicillatus) nesting on a mainland cliff adjacent to the 



main breeding rock was collected by A. H. Miller on 1 5 

 June 1935 (BMVZ No. 3,797). The egg was described 

 as "on decomposed rock and dirt on projecting ridge, 

 moderately steep slope" (A. H. Miller, unpublished field 

 notes). On 7 and 22 April 1962, H. Cogswell 

 (unpublished field notes) noted hundreds on "a rocky 

 islet just off-shore . . . near the end of Bear Valley Road" 

 (i.e., Point Resistance). 



Osbome ( 1 969) reported 200 breeding pairs at Point 

 Resistance (referred to as "Rock south Bear Valley") in 

 July-August 1969. In fact. Point Resistance is north of 

 the mouth of Bear Valley and this observation possibly 

 referred to nearby Millers Point Rocks. Osborne and 

 Reynolds (1971) and Osborne (1972) noted 200 

 breeding pairs in 1970, based on a ground count. 

 Hundreds to thousands of murres are evident in an aerial 

 photograph (#1 86) at Point Resistance taken on 15 June 

 1972 (R. Jurek, unpublished data). 



Tuck (1961) reported a colony at Double Point 

 without details. Osborne (1969) reported 700 breeding 

 pairs at Double Point Rocks (referred to as "Rocks north 

 Double Point") in July-August 1969. In fact. Double 

 Point Rocks occur directly off the north point of Double 

 Point and this observation possibly referred to Point 

 Resistance or Millers Point Rocks (see below). Osborne 

 and Reynolds (1971) and Osborne (1972) noted 700 

 breeding pairs (or 1 .400 murres) from a mainland count 

 at Double Point Rocks in 1970. On 15 April 1971, 

 Ainley and Whitt ( 1974) reported 1 .400 breeding birds 

 at Double Point Rocks (based on a ground count 

 adjusted with a k correction factor ). Thousands of murres 

 are evident in six aerial photographs (#3-5, #183-185) 

 of Double Point Rocks taken on 15 June 1972 (R. Jurek. 

 unpublished data). In 1978, S. Allen reported about 

 3.000 birds (Chan 1981). 



Varoujean (1979) assigned a 1970 colony of 200 

 breeding pairs of murres (that had been referred to as 

 "Rock So. Bear Valley " in Osborne and Reynolds 1971) 

 to Millers Point Rocks. Sowls et al. (1980) reassigned 

 this observation to Point Resistance where they had 

 found a substantial colony in 1979 instead of Millers 

 Point Rocks where they did not report breeding in 

 1979-80. However, Briggs et al. (1983) did report 

 breeding murres at Millers Point Rocks in 1980-82, as 

 did Carter et al. (1992) in 1989. Based on these 

 subsequent observations, it is not clear which of these 

 colonies was being referred to although it was most 

 likely Point Resistance because Millers Point Rocks 

 are smaller rocks and have had only small numbers 

 breeding in most recent years. 



